The San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs play game two of their three game set here on Tuesday. The Padres took game one on Monday, 6-3. That brought the Padres to the .500 mark at 19-19 but still 5.5-games back of the Dodgers in the NL West. The Padres also have a +14 run differential. Randy Vasquez will toe the rubber today for San Diego. He's 0-1 in his two starts with a 5.87 ERA and 1.825 WHIP. He's allowed 11 hits and eight runs over his 7 2/3 innings of work. The Cubs dropped to 21-15 in the NL Central but are still tied with the Brewers for 1st place. The Cubs have a +15 run differential. Shota Imanaga will start for the Cubs today. Imanaga is a perfect 5-0 in his six starts with an amazing 0.78 ERA and 0.750 WHIP. He's allowed no runs in four of his starts and no more than two runs in the other two starts. Imanaga has been their Ace this year and while the price is a bit steep, I'm taking the Cubs today.

 The NBA Second round opening game here on Tuesday between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder. So far in this second round it's been a dog feast as dogs have been covering. In the case of the T'Wolves and Nuggets the Wolves won both games straight up at Denver. Will that continue here today? The Mavericks took six games to dispose of the LA Clippers, winning and covering the last two in the series. The Mavs averaged 117.1 ppg during the regular season and thus far just 107 ppg in the playoffs. They allowed 114.6 ppg in regular season play and 100.3 in the playoffs. The Thunder swept the New Orleans Pelicans in four games, covering three of those games. In fact, the Thunder bring a nine game winning streak into this game and a 7-2 spread mark. Today, the Thunder are about 3.5-point favorite. The Thunder have been one of the best home teams this season and I don't see that changing in the postseason. There is some good news for the Mavs as Doncic and Hardaway Jr both have been upgraded to probable for today. Still, this is a very balanced OKC team that is hot both winning and covering. I'll take them here today in game one with the short line. Play Oklahoma City.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics begin their 2nd round Eastern Conference match here today. The Cavaliers needed seven games to dispose of Orlando. In fact, it didn't look too good in game seven on Sunday as they trailed 43-53 at the half. However, a 33-15 third quarter propelled them to the lead and they never looked back. Donovan Mitched scored 39 points for the Cavs. They covered three of the seven games. The Boston Celtics took five games to beat the Miami Heat. They lost game two, 94-111 and then beat the Heat by 20, 14 and 34 in the final three games as they covered four of the five games. The Celtics held the Heat to just 92.2 ppg in the playoff fist round. While Cleveland had to play Sunday, the Celtics have been off since their win to clinch the series on May 1st. The Celtics are rested and ready for this game one. They will dominate at the forward positions while the Cavs will not matchup well at all in this series. While the Celtics should have little trouble in the series, I expect a blowout here in game one. Take the Celtics.

 Game 2 of this Eastern Conference Round 2 clash here between the Indiana Pacers and NY Knicks. Game one went back and forth before the Knicks finally pulled out the win, 121-117 to take a 1-0 series lead. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 43 points. Brunson became the fourth player in NBA history with 40 or more points in four straight playoff games. Donte DiVincenzo hit the go ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds to play to lift the Knicks to the win. The Pacers led at half, 55-46. They have the advantage with a deeper bench and that led to the halftime lead. But Brunson scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to bring the Knicks back. The Pacers like the fast pace and the Knicks would rather slow things down. But the Pacers have got the Knicks to play fast which they wanted. The Knicks have a pair of four-point wins over the Pacers this year and two losses. The Pacers have covered three of the four matchups. The Pacers also don't turn the ball over much. I took the Pacers in game one and I'll be on them again here in game two. Play Indiana.

The Houston Astros and NY Yankees play the second of their three game set here on Wednesday. The Yankees won the opener yesterday, 10-3. The Yankees improved to 24-13 and just percentage points behind the Orioles for 1st place in the AL East. They also have a +49 point differential. The Yanks have also won four straight games and seven of their last 10. Carlos Rondon will make the start today for New York. Rondon is 2-2 in his seven starts with a 3.19 ERA and 1.255 WHIP. He's been great at home with a 1-0 record in his two home starts and a 0.00 ERA and 0.692 WHIP. The Houston Astros look to snap their three-game skid here today. The Astros have dropped back into last in the AL West with a 12-23 record and 8-games back of the Rangers. They also have a -27 run differential. Spencer Arrighetti makes his fourth start of the season and is still looking for his first win. He's 0-3 with a 8.26 ERA and 1.958 WHIP. He did have his best start of the season though in his last game, allowing two runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings of work. I'm sticking with the Yankees here on Wednesday as they are the much better team right now with the better starter. Play New York.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals play the final game of their three-game set here on Wednesday. The teams have split the first two games with the Brewers winning Monday and the Royals on Tuesday. The Brewers are percentage points in first place in the NL Central over the Cubs. They also have a +21 run differential. Joe Ross gets the start here today for the Brewers. Ross is 1-3 in his six starts with a 4.65 ERA and 1.548 WHIP. The team has lost three of his last four starts. The Royals have dropped six of their last 10 games and into third place in the AL Central, 2.5-games back of the Guardians. Brian Singer makes his 8th start for the Royals here today. Singer is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 0.967 WHIP. Singer has allowed more than two runs in a start just one time this season. In fact, he's allowed one run or no runs in five of seven starts. I'm taking the Royals here today at home with the Ace on the hill.

The Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies play the final game of their three-game set here today. The Phillies have taken both of the first two games, scoring 21 runs in the process. The Phillies are one if not the hottest teams in baseball and have jumped into first place in the NL East with a 26-11 record. They have won seven straight games and 11 of their last 12 games along with having a +54 run differential. Aaron Nola will toe the rubber here today for the Phillies. He's 4-1 in seven starts with a 3.53 ERA and 1.177 WHIP. Nola has been very consistent, allowing more than three runs just one time this year. The team has also won his last six starts. The Blue Jays have lost two straight and five of their last six games. They have dropped to 16-20 and last place in the AL East, 7.5-games back of the Orioles. Chris Bassitt will make his 8th start today. Bassitt is 2-5 with a 5.45 ERA and 1.679 WHIP. Bassitt has had quality starts this year but he's up against this red-hot Phillies team and Nola. I'm taking the Phillies and laying the price here today.